A place shared with many incredible trees like Magheramore draws the feeling of at-homeness and the warmth of a TREEmendous embrace. I’m no expert on trees, but by the look of the bark texture and structure as well as the branch size, some could be decades-old, a century old or even more.
This experience connects me to the trees in the Philippines. For us in the Cordillera Mountain Range, trees are our immediate neighbours. They are mostly the common home-grown fruit bearing trees like the Philippine Mango which is known for its sweet and flavourful dessert fruit, and the Indian Mango with its evergreen fruit. Both are mainly called Mangga. Climbing these trees was an afternoon fun during summer school breaks for me and I got to relish a fulfilling treat of salted green mangoes while enjoying the solitude of my sanctuary in the bosom of their thick foliage.
In 2016, the tropical storm Super Typhoon Haima toppled many of these trees back home. Sadly, the Philippine Pomelo (Shimma), Spanish Plum (Sineguelas), Soursop (Guyabano), and a few trees of Coconut (Ihjoog) and Papaya (Apahjhe) did not survive. But thankfully, two Mango trees miraculously recovered and continue to bear fruit until today. How did it happen? Innate to indigenous farmers, stormed trees with some roots still clinging on the ground have better chances of survival if left unbothered. But simple acts of care from my mother and sister who occasionally put soil, compost and dried leaves onto the roots could have helped. And whenever I go home, I always feel amazed to see how they managed to survive. One curved its trunk to almost 90° from the ground and the other transformed a branch with a better sun exposure as its trunk.
During a special family gathering hosted by my late brother, Manong Bonie, who was a farmer himself, I was delighted to see a basketful of fresh Philippine Lime fruits (Dhayajap) which he had gathered from his backyard. I lauded his effort in planting this vanishing indigenous tree but he said, “Oh no, it wasn’t me. My wise friends did.” He was referring to the birds! The Guava (Bayabas) tree-shrubs in the wild are propagated this way. Fruit picking at a thicket of Guava trees is a fond childhood memory. One Sunday morning after Mass, I stopped by for a snack with my Lola (grandmother). Following her advice, I climbed, leaving the low-lying fruits for cows, carabaos, goats, pigs and those who could not climb, reserving some ripe fruits for the birds and insects, and getting only what is enough for me.
In Kalinga, we take pride in the Balbalasang-Balbalan National Park which is largely a Pine (Sayong) Forest. It is one of the vast expanses of old-growth forests in the country maintained and preserved by indigenous communities (Foundation for the Philippine Environment, 2026). Back in grade school, a visit to relatives was my first time to step into this place. I recalled how I had been awestruck at seeing the uniform spacing and orderly pattern of the Pine trees, then feeling annoyed after stirring a laugh when I asked who planted the trees.
Visiting the Sabang Mangrove (Bakawan) Forest in the island of Palawan is a cherished soulful encounter. My friend and I burst into tears upon arriving at the site home to the heritage Mangrove trees. It was so surreal to see their protruding large woody roots, their towering trunks and their canopy overshadowing the forest floor’s massive and complex root systems. We were immensely elated and grateful for the chance to plant some Mangrove propagules. The 1981 Presidential Proclamation which declared the whole Palawan island as Mangrove Swamp Forest Reserves and the Expanded National Integrated Protected Areas System Act of 2018 legalized the conservation and protection of this enchanting coastal forest. However, 50% of these Mangrove ecosystems was severely damaged by Super Typhoon Rai in 2021 (Green Assessment Framework Report, 2022). This shows that local policies and actions are not enough to conserve and protect our communiTREES. These critical tasks demand biodiversity based global policies and collective action worldwide such as the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the Fossil Fuel Treaty initiative.
For decades, our faithful neighbours who have been shielding us from extreme impacts of climate disasters hitting the Philippines annually while facing the threats and destruction of about 190 mining projects (not counting the explorations and applications), teach fundamental lessons about biodiversity conservation. If they are planted imitating how the forests naturally grow its trees in terms of density and diversity, they reinforce each other. Moreover, from the key findings of the report mentioned above, some mangrove forests thrived better in their intrinsic ways of recovery indicating that minimal and selective management interventions are preferable approaches. Thus, all they ask at the very least is freedom to be in their own home.
Contemplation of creation allows us to discover in each thing a teaching which God wishes to hand on to us. (Laudato Si 85, Pope Francis)
Karen Lanipao (Novice with Columban Sisters)